Opal Fire (A Reluctant Witch Mystery: Stacy Justice Book One) [Kindle Edition]

Barbra Annino (Author)

Book Description

An unexplained fire.

A secret buried behind a wall.

And murder.

Stacy Justice is just your
average green-eyed, redheaded, twenty-something witch who would rather focus on
her job as a reporter than practice the crazy magic her grandmother and great-aunts
are into. She's perfectly content to spend her free time hanging with her cop
boyfriend and her gassy Great Dane and helping her cousin Cinnamon run the
Black Opal bar. But when the Opal goes up in flames, Stacy may need that magic
after all.

 

The blaze was arson--and
Cinnamon is the prime suspect. Determined to clear her cousin's name, Stacy
digs deep into the crime and makes a shocking discovery amid the rubble. It's
clear someone wants her dead--and she'll have to dodge everything from angry motorists
to exploding chickens to survive. It's time to dust off her so-called magic
skills. But will they be there when she needs them?

<span>With its strong, sexy heroine and her razor-sharp wit,
and its collection of eccentric small-town characters, Opal Fire introduces a bewitching new mystery series.</span>

• OPAL FIRE, Stacy Justice Book One.   How far would you go to keep a secret?
• BLOODSTONE, Stacy Justice Book Two.   What if your whole life was a lie?
• TIGER'S EYE, Stacy Justice Book Three.   This time, it's personal. December 2012

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A crazy mix of mystery, magic, thrills, romance and humor! It grabs you, pulls you in and let's you have a good time with all the main characters as well as the secondary ones... From Stacy herself, her no nonsense cousin Cinnamon, her cop boyfriend Leo all the way to her wonderful Great Dane Thor everyone is believable as well as well fleshed out... By the time you get to the end of the book they are all like friends and family... Stacy's wicca heritage is at times amusing and for her also frustrating as no one seems to want to give her any useful help or even a straight answer to her questions! Her Aunts are about as eccentric as you would expect but all the more interesting because of it! The book is not only full of wonderfully engaging characters for the reader to learn about, it also encompasses a decently devious plot that twists along in unexpected places and keeps you on your toes trying to figure out what is going on... Just about the time you think you do, you find out you really don't!" --Housewife Blues and Chihauhau Stories

"I was a cackling mess reading this book, it's full of the funny. If you want a fresh new series by a talented debut author, get your hands on a copy of Opal Fire...you'll adore it!" --Wicked Lil Pixie Reviews

"Barbra Annino presents us with the gift of a very entertaining story. Lots of humor, wonderful character descriptions, great one liners and a plot that will keep you guessing. You won't want to miss this book."  --Night Owl Reviews

"This book had me laughing one minute and guessing the next. The end was truly surprising and unexpected!" --Melanie's Book Addiction

From the Author

If you would like to be notified of new release dates in this series, contact me at barbraannino.com

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 346 KB
• Print Length: 313 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1463609337
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004QGYHFI
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,338 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 54 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars LOVED IT! February 6, 2011

By Stacy L. Daniels

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Opal Fire is a fast paced cozy mystery with engaging characters, more than one mystery to solve and several funny moments (the metaphor / analogy conversation was hilarious)! Stacy was spunky with a knack for getting into trouble and I loved her interaction with her family and the antics of Thor, the Great Dane. Other than a few very minor errors, the book is very well edited and the author has a style that immerses the reader into the story rather than simply narrating it. I connected with the characters and felt emotionally invested in the outcome; Loved the ending - one mystery was solved, but in a surprising twist, another was revealed. Glad I took a chance on this book, it was a highly enjoyable read and I can't wait for the next book in this series!

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Most Enjoyable Read December 3, 2010

By EJ Knapp

Format:Kindle Edition

A truly enjoyable read requires several ingredients: an intriguing protagonist, interesting, well-rounded supporting characters, a brisk pace, a hint or more of danger, a slew of story questions, and a satisfying end in which the bad dude gets his just reward. Humor, if the author can pull it off, is a nice, added touch.
Opal Fire by Barbra Annino has all this and more ... like witches, magic, a lumbering Great Dane and a hell of a twist at the end that will have you panting for more. I know I am.
On the humor front I offer this one caveat: do not consume liquid refreshment while reading Opal Fire. You could ruin an eReader or stain the pages of a perfectly good Tree Book.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Promising First In Series July 19, 2011

By The Legend Of Megadon

Format:Kindle Edition

I am giving a quick review hopefully it will be helpful. Don't you wish we could rate the books without having to write a review? First let me say I would love to read the second book that was supposed to be released in June, it's not out yet and no word on the authors website as to why the book is not out. Since I want to continue reading these books that is a good sign, this is a solid 4.5 star book. I do not want to give much away the premise is Stacy whose grandmother and aunts are witches returns home after having lived away for a long time. Her family is pretty entertaining when she is not with her "coven" (for lack of better words) she is with her Italian side of the family. Stacy comes from a colorful family, and when her cousin's bar burns down Stacy finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery. I love cozies so I was unsure if I would like the Supernatural element mixed in with my murder mysteries, but this book was surprisingly good and Annino seems to stick to the unofficial rules of writing a cozies. In many ways this is a typical cozy with the Supernatural adding a little more variety at times, however it is Stacy's defiant personality that makes the series stand out. Stacy is somewhat reminiscent of Sookie Stackhouse and Lily Bard in the regards she a unique but strong female character. If you like the Charlaine Harris "cozies" then you should like this book.

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining at best January 21, 2012

By VN Jones

Format:Kindle Edition

This book was an entertaining read but i wouldn't buy it. Stacy was truly "sassy" but sass gets old after a while. The whole book is mainly her constant internal and external smart ass dialog. I laughed a lot but it doesn't make for a good story. All the conversation in the book consisted of one line sarcasm and insults thrown back an forth between the characters and left little of the story told. The characters are flat, you know very little of them. Leo is her boyfriend? Really? They have 3 conversations, they are never together and other than cheeky dialog you have no idea how she feels about him. There are too many character who just appear with little connection to the main story. Stacy is very imature, self absorbed and disrespectful.You would have no idea she was speaking to anyone of authority; the coroner, her boss, the mayor, the police cheif...she talks to all of them as if they were all her younger brother. Many of the scenarios are not believable - full access to the morgue, dragging a dog through a hospital... Breaks in the book are akward. One sentence she is here, the next she is somewhere completely different with different people. That should be another paragraph at least possible another chapter. Once i read the author's bio it all made sense. As a reporter you can get an detailed physical discription, manner of speaking, personal details but that is all. Just a black an white photograph with a caption and a short article.

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Still Looking for a Good Witch Mystery August 18, 2012

By tracieb

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

You know those parents who give in when their child throws a fit to get what she wants? Ever wonder what happens when said child grows up? Now I know. She becomes Stacy. She is described as "sassy", but she's not. She's rude, selfish and just plain mean. I made it to chapter 7 before I couldn't stand her anymore. In that time, she physically assaulted three separate people. Okay, one of those was a coworker who picked the lock on her office (possibly forgivable), but the other two (insurance agent and police officer) were simply doing their job.

I also couldn't figure out why her grandmother and aunts were so nice to her. Yes, she is family, but she is family that barges in and demands they use their powers (which she has openly shunned and denounced) to help her do her job. Right now. Thankfully, they didn't, but gave her the tools to do it herself. Cue another fit.

The story has such potential and I really wish I could get past my intense dislike of the main character enough to finish it. As it stands, I find myself hoping she will be framed for arson and be sent to prison for a long, long time.

More About the Author

Barbra Annino is a Chicago native who now lives in Galena, Illinois with her husband and three Great Danes. She's worked as a bartender, a humor columnist and a freelance writer as well as a bed and breakfast proprietor.

She has just completed EMERALD ISLE, the fourth book in the best-selling Stacy Justice series and is currently involved in several projects including an urban fantasy series.

To find her on the web, please visit:
www.barbraannino.com
[e-mail]
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Barbra-Annino